THE CARCASS GATHERERS: BN politicians rush to cash in on William’s death

“Where the carcass is, the vultures will gather,” and true to this saying, Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders have wasted no time to cash in on the nation’s outpouring of grief over William Yau Zhen Zhong’s death when in fact his demise can be traced to the corrupt and inept governance of BN.

Leading the BN fray was disgraced Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who capitalized on the situation to meet up with William’s parents and showed an obvious fake expression of sympathy which was carried by the mainstream media.

It was precisely under Shahrizat’s ministry in the past that witnessed a spate of violence, evil and abuses towards women and children and she herself has come to be renown among Malaysians for her ruthlessness, sheer greed and arrogance.

The fact that she emerged on the scene to show apparent care and concern is a real mockery and reveals more the hypocrisy behind the women who is now struggling to try and curry favor with Malaysians in a bid to gain a powerful position once more.

If sincere, BN would have long ago put in policies to protect kids & society

Najib voiced his grief over William’s disappearance and death in brief terms, but his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, a self-confessed racist and Malay chauvinist, showed his expression of grief in a manner that showed that his biased stance on race and religion has not changed.

The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), now out of favor with the Chinese population in the country, showed a lot of enthusiasm and interest in trying to help find William but their agenda was clearly to try and show that the MCA was still relevant to the Chinese.

The MCA public complaints bureau chief, Michael Chong, was snubbed by William’s parents, despite trying to reach out to them and to offer help.

But the bureau, Malaysians have come to recognize, is really irrelevant and redundant, as it is seen as always trying to bolt the stable doors after the horse has fled.

While Chong, who heads this bureau, has long claimed to have solved numerous cases, Malaysians tend to think that “prevention is better than cure” and seriously believe that BN’s corrupt and inefficient governance in the first place is the actual cause of growing problems over the safety and security of women and children in the country.

A confused and baffled nation

Understandably, Malaysians of all walks of life are still shocked and horrified by the demise of William and are outraged and baffled as well as to his mysterious death.

Never in the history of this country has so much publicity and interest been generated in the case of a missing child.

Malaysians are clamoring and wanting to see closure and the mystery of William’s death and disappearance solved as it has spawned much speculation, rumors, accusations and a range of emotions.

There is a push by Malaysians in urging the authorities to ensure that no stone is left unturned in their search for the perpetrators of William’s disappearance and death, if any, or to explain beyond doubt and to the satisfaction of the family and the public how he disappeared and died.

This “whodunit” mystery has caused anger and resentment to rise, finger-pointing, the possibility of the work of ghosts, the work of Ah Long’s, kidnap for ransom gone awry, the work of human traffickers and a host of possibilities churned up by the general public.

The role of the authorities

There are others in the history of cases of missing children that have in the past also had to pay a heavy price for it. The disappearance and subsequent death of William is not a new phenomenon.

From time to time, Malaysians are often outraged and incensed by the stories of kidnapped children or the cases of missing children who disappear without a trace or of children raped, murdered, sodomized or of having suffered emotional trauma in the hands of their captors.

While Malaysians were doing whatever they could in their own capacity for William, hoping and praying, handing out flyers and creating awareness and being on the lookout for him, it is really sad and disappointing to note the pathetic role of the Polis DiRaja Malaysia in this mystery.

Malaysians are already highly critical of the role of the police in combating crime and most people disprove strongly that crime is under control in this country.

Given this scenario, the police missed a golden opportunity in the mystery of William’s disappearance and death to prove otherwise.

What emerge was that to begin with, the police were sluggish to respond to the missing person’s report of William.

They showed the usual lack of interest in performing their duties which has earned them the dubious honor of just being policemen to “makan suap” (accept bribes) or “makan gaji” (earn a living the easy way).

In the case of a missing persons report, the first 24-hours since the person was reported missing is critical and the police should have acted very swiftly in response to the missing persons report of William.

Time is of the essence and every day of delay in not finding a missing person will cause the hopes of finding the person to fade. This the police should know and the manner in which they conducted their investigations also showed gross inadequacies in effective policing.

Perhaps it is high time that they review the procedures they use in finding missing persons. What makes the mystery of William’s disappearance and death more humiliating for the police force in Malaysia is that the general public and volunteers showed more urgency and enthusiasm in wanting to find him.

In terms of effective policing to ensure the safety and security of the nation, the Malaysian police force rates very low now and is also generally perceived to be the most corrupt law enforcement agency in the country.

The Malaysian police force, once the pride of the nation, has sunk to a state of great ridicule and contempt that has caused the rate of crime to soar and have caused criminals to be emboldened because they are aware the police are not on the job.

A call to rally around the family

But what is now most clearly needed in this period of outpouring of national grief, as Malaysians of all walks of life are outraged and understandably baffled and disturbed as to the mystery of William’s disappearance and death, is for all of us to genuinely rally around the family in this time of great distress.

The anguish and heartache that the family is going through has greatly affected us as a nation. The heartfelt wish of right-thinking Malaysians is that such a fate will never again be encountered by any family.

The general public should show sympathy and compassion rather than hurl insults and abuses over an incident or misfortune that could have easily affected any family.

Persons asking for the parents to be charged for being negligent in their role as parents are not thinking straight as the parents have already lost William which is the greatest punishment that has already been inflicted on them.

Cruel and heartless people such as these are merely trying to add insult to injury that have been suffered by the Yau’s which is likely to haunt not only them but Malaysians for many years to come.

Given the circumstances under which this family suffered their ordeal, no one has a right to condemn, criticize or judge them of having neglected their responsibilities rather it all boils down to a case of gross misadventure.

No human being is perfect and like a neighbor of the Yau’s remarked: “They are good people. It is sad that they just made one mistake and they have to pay for it.”

Under these circumstances, sincere condolences and genuine compassion should be expressed in the hope that with the passing of time the wounds of this family and all Malaysians who share in the grief will heal and that they will recover from this horrendous experience.

Malaysia Chronicle